Rumored Nights

Monday reared its ugly head and chased away the weekend Alice had so strongly clinged to.

There were no words for the gratitude Alice had toward her sister for the weekend she had just survived.

But the days they had spent having movie marathons and baking sprees didn't change the fact she had to face everyone and the truth of her stupidity.

Regardless she had her sister's love and words to keep her from diving under the blankets and instead bravely walked up to the school.

Liz was the first to find her.

"You stupid, crazy, wonderful person! Do you know how worried, how crazed, how insane we went when you disappeared?!" Liz exclaimed, stumbling over words more than a drunk would walking.

Following close behind was Jesse, too absorbed in his relief to care he had practically trampled Liz on his way to embracing Alice.

"You're alive!" He exclaimed, pulling her so far up to him her feet dangled from the ground as he spun her around.

"Keep it up and she won't be for much longer." Skye chided, joining the group now getting odd looks from passerbyers.

Jesse relinquished his hold on a stunned Alice for Skye to replace his exuberant hug with her own soft one.

As she moved it was clear Melanie had been behind her, looking almost as guilty as Alice felt.

"Don't worry us like that again." Skye murmured into her scarf, squeezing her tighter to cement her words.

Alice somehow attempted a nod as her friend backed away, making room for Melanie who shyly stood away.

"We all really were worried about you." She said softly, her words almost hidden by her hair.

"I know." Alice whispered, feeling the weight of this moment bringing her down all the more.

Without a moments hesitation Melanie threw her arms around Alice with such energy they almost lost balance.

"Don't ever do a thing like that again okay?" She commanded, in a shaky voice full of worry.

Once more Alice nodded as she saved her voice for the right time.

Melanie backed away enough for Alice to say the words she had composed on the way there.

However she stopped, noticing their small group was even smaller, missing Skye's signifigant other and his partner in crime.

"Where's Max and Sisky? Should they really be trusted unsupervised?" She asked, attempting to lighten the mood.

Liz fell along quickly with her plan, clearly feeling the weight and not handling it well.

"You make a good point... But I'm not Sisky's keeper." She grinned, glancing at Skye. "Skye on the other hand... if Max blows up the east building it is entirely not my fault."

Skye rose an eyebrow in return. "Wasn't this your argument last time when you, Max, and Sisky threw four bars of soap and an open bottle of Dial into the fountain?"

Liz glanced away, muttering something to herself about soap as attention was drawn away from her by her very two accomplices running up with food overflowing in their arms.

"And what were you doing while we buried Alice in guilt?" Melanie asked with an accusing finger.

A mischievous smile crossed both their expressions before turning nonchalant as they ate their enormous breakfast.

"We were hungry so we went to the cafeteria-"

"But they would only let us go in once for food so-" Max continued for Sisky.

"So we kidna- I mean made a deal with these freshman..."

At which once more Max finished his sentence and their explanation. "And now all their older brother's are looking to beat us up."

They all fell into a small puddle of laughter, whether from the events that unfolded or the fearful glances the two boys in question were throwing around them.

But that didn't matter to Alice as she embraced the good feeling bubbling through her, and the happiness that threw every sad thought of hers into the shadows with the carefree and out of place smile on her lips.

.<^>.<^>.<^>.

The rest of Alice's school day went like this, at least one of her friends with her at all times possible, intent on making her laugh even if it earned them the repremand of a teacher.

She didn't know how she'd make it up to her friends for all they were doing for her now, but she was sure there were Christmas presents involved and many other holidays included.

Alice felt light leaving school, her mind carefree as she walked into the cool end of autumn air as she hadn't thought about... certain things all day.

With her eyes unclouded she could appreciate the scenery around her, bathed in golds from some of the fall leaves still clinging to branches.

At comfortable odds with those colors, the deep cloudless blue sky stretched overhead so painful to look at yet hard to tear your eyes from.

It was her kind of day, the day she looked forward to during the lazy summers when it was too hot to do anything.

There were happy memories tied to this atmosphere from long ago when her dad would take them on family walks through the neighborhood and explain what birdsong went to which bird as he held hands with her mother and would proceed to discuss the American Revolution.

Ryan and Caroline were bored by his endless conversations on those forced walks, but at the young age Alice had been she was fascinated by her father and his passion for life.

She didn't like to dwell much on memories of her dad, fearing that hole would open up again.

It was different though with this memory as her heart only ached this time, reflecting on a happier time with another her.

That happy memory seemed to make her surroundings glow even more in the afternoon light of the day quickly trickling away.

She should've seen it as a sign of things to come, but Alice was never the superstitious sort and naively floated along like Fred Astair.

In an oh so subtle waltz Alice flitted across the courtyard to the sound of unheard music.

The moment she was revelling in was quickly pulled from under her with the, not one, but two bodies that collided into her.

"Alice!" Melanie exclaimed in a sugary sweet excitement.

She slung her arm around Alice and stepped to her side while Jesse mirrored her movements in the opposite.

"I feel like we hardly spend any time together." He mused, leading her back the way she came, turned against the front of the school.

She could hardly get a word in edgewise as they began going on in a blur of words about how their day's had been, regardless of the fact Alice had been at half the moments they were discussing.

They had nearly led her the complete opposite when she stopped them.

"Enough! I'm not that stupid, now what the hell is going on?" She burst, cementing her feet to the ground.

Her two captors smile's fell as they exchanged looks, making the mistake to draw her attention back the way she had come as they slipped their own that way.

Alice knew she shouldn't, knew it would bring nothing but satisfaction to sedate her curiosity, but she turned regardless.

Amongst the crowds of students she seemed to look past all of them and find the one that wasn't supposed to be seen.

An innocent looking blonde, happy with a smile on her face, ran toward the curb with a purpose as she radiated happiness.

Even before William graduated he had walked Alice home, wanting to spend as much time as possible with Alice.

Only when it got cold would William suffer the lack of leisure with his best friend to drive her home.

He would never admit it but it killed him to see her freezing when she didn't have to, knowing he could prevent it in a way that wouldn't tempt him to cross the line of friendship.

Alice could've taken this fact to heart as she saw this carefree blonde climb into the car like she had so often, mentally and physically taking her place.

But her mind, and her healing heart, couldn't take in anything reassuring as she watched this foreign figure taint her happiness like a poison with the kiss she placed squarely on herlove, her best friend, William.

She didn't think it was possible for her mentality to take further hits, but embraced as much as she could to detonate as many mines in this social field as possible.

This was the mantra Alice repeated as Melanie spoke.

"Skye and I overheard Avery in the bathroom talking about the party this weekend, how they hooked up once he got back from somewhere." She whispered, despite Jesse's warning glances.

While her chances of crumbling to pieces over one overlooked mine lessened, Alice's pain was diverted from the slash of true events to elsewhere.

As William's silhuette disappeared around the corner, the most she had seen of him since the party, where his mouth had been so desperately on the same girl.

Why this kiss struck her so deeply was a mystery perhaps tied in with the lack of alcohol, or the casualness.

Hook-up's at parties seemed ordinary and mundane, one night stands of a youth sort to be forgotten the next day.

For a relationship to see the light of day, a drive under the setting sun showed commitment to the actual term relationship.

A term that had no room for Alice.

But she surpressed these thoughts in desperation, and without William there to do it for her, reaffixed the bag on her shoulders.

With her friend's calling after her Alice set off toward home with determination feeding off her despair.